Sharing of Unique Technologies for UAS Capability Upgrades
In a further example of the importance it places on the Indian market, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at DefExpo 2020 with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Dynamic Technologies Limited (DTL), with a focus on unmanned aerial systems (UAS), the company announced on 5 February.
The MoU will reflect the existing UAS capabilities developed by IAI and promote local production of Indian UAVs, in line with the government’s ‘Make in India policy. The strategic partnership will allow development of optimal solutions for the specific needs of the Indian customers. IAI has also established, with local collaboration, a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility dedicated to UAS, to provide customers with high-availability response and rapid maintenance.
IAI has been a leader in UAS for nearly 50 years and is the exclusive UAS supplier to all India’s armed forces. The company provides services to over 50 customers worldwide, boasting over 1.8 million operational flight hours. This collaboration will centre on the sharing of unique technologies for upgrading UAS capabilities, offering Indian customers advanced systems that include integrated local technologies.
“India is an important strategic partner for UAS and I’m confident the combination of IAI’s extensive experience and the technological capabilities of HAL and DTL will lead to significant advancements in the field,” commented IAI Executive VP and General Manager of the Military Aircraft Group, Moshe Levy.
Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, Shri R Madhavan, added “the collaboration will provide excellent opportunity to HAL to expand its product offerings to defence customers, absorb critical technologies and strengthen the aerospace ecosystem in the country, especially for UAS.”
“This is a global PPP between HAL, our partner for over two decades, IAI, a world leader in UAS technology who we have been teaming with since 2017, and Dynamatic. This collaboration will provide a boost to ‘Make in India’ and we are committed to establishing a broad technological and industrial eco-system within the country,” observed the CEO and Managing Director of DTL, Dr Udayant Malhoutra.
